Lighthouse-Restoration Group Taking Another Big Step Forward

The Friends of the Pomham Rocks Lighthouse has launched another fundraising campaign – this time to fix up the interior of the historic property on the bay in East Providence. 

There is no specific goal, Pomham Rocks president David Kelleher said. But it is estimated that it will take anywhere from $500,000 to $700,000 to do the interior work.

“We’re talking about electricity, plumbing and heating,” said Kelleher, “and then repairing or replacing and painting walls, etc.”

Kelleher outlined the nonprofit organization's plans to the East Providence City Council last Tuesday night. He introduced the group's chief fundraiser, Nathan Chace.

“Our main interest is to get electricity out there first,” Kelleher said. 

That will require running a cable under water to Pomham Rocks, an island just south of Squantum Point, he said. Then the interior of the lighthouse will have to be rewired. 

The next step will probably be coming up with a fuel-efficient heating source for the radiators – maybe propane, he said.

The lighthouse, still “an official navigational aid” for the Coast Guard, Kelleher said, does not have water. It relies on a cistern that catches rainfall off the roof.

Of course, he said, the Friends must follow the strict historical-preservation rules known as the Secretary of the Interior guidelines or it would lose its place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Approximately $200,000 has been raised so far, said Kelleher.

“We’re on our way,” he said.

The organization plans to apply for federal and state grants and for grants from organizations like the Nature Conservancy, Kelleher said. But it is looking for lots of smaller donations as well. 

“You can send a donation to post office box number 15121 at the Riverside Post Office,” he said.

Or you can contact Kelleher directly by email at lighthouse1936@verizon.net or by phone at 401-433-2763. 

“We’re restoring it to the way it looked in 1871,” Kelleher said.

The only exterior exception so far has been the installation of storm windows to keep the rain out of the building while the original wooden windows are being restored by Bill Lizotte of Bill Lizotte Architectural Glass & Aluminum on the Wampanoag Trail.

“He’s a member of our group, and he does great work,” Kelleher said. 

There is no specific timetable for the capital campaign or the complete restoration of the 1871 lighthouse – the farthest one north on Narragansett Bay.

“Maybe within five to ten years,” he said. “We’d like to get a museum out there that is open to the public.” 

The last capital campaign raised about $300,000 from 2004 to 2006.